The Committee to Protect
Journalists condemns recent violence against journalists in Thailand,
including the shooting deaths of two foreign reporters killed while covering
news events. We call on your government to launch independent probes into
recent attacks and bring the perpetrators to justice.

On April 10, Reuters
cameraman Hiro Muramoto was shot and killed in Bangkok while filming clashes between your
government’s security forces and armed United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship
(UDD) antigovernment protesters. A diplomat who spoke to CPJ on the condition
of anonymitysaid that your
government has in its possession, but has not publicly released, closed circuit
television (CCTV) footage of the area where Muramoto was killed.

Our interviews with journalists
also indicated that the military and other government agencies have failed to
fully cooperate with at least one independent investigation probing the
circumstances surrounding Muramoto’s death, by not allowing interviews with
soldiers who were near the journalist before he was shot. We call on you to
make the CCTV footage and any other relevant information available to
investigators, diplomats, and journalists.

We also urge you to launch
an independent probe into the killing of Italian photojournalist Fabio Polenghi,
who was fatally shot in the abdomen on May 19 while covering your government’s
crackdown on protesters. Some of his colleagues told CPJ that they thinkhe may have been deliberately targeted
because he was killed while visibly carrying a camera in an open area with few
protesters. After Polenghi’s shooting, some local reporters removed their
green armbands that had identified them as journalists, fearing they might be
targeted by shooters.

At least seven other foreign
and local journalists were shot or injured by grenade shrapnel while covering
armed exchanges between security forces and UDD protesters last month, according
to news reports. Among those cases are:

· On May 14, France 24 television reporter Nelson
Rand was shot three times while attempting to cross the front line between
soldiers and protesters, according to news reports. His injuries required
emergency surgery and extensive recuperation in the hospital. It is unclear
whether he was shot by soldiers or protesters.

· On May 19, freelance Canadian reporter Chandler
Vandergrift was seriously injured in a grenade attack while moving with a group
of soldiers and journalists near the perimeter of the UDD’s protest site. He
was hit by shrapnel in the head and back and required emergency brain surgery.
According to a colleague, he is slowly regaining mobility in the right side of
his body.

· Dutch journalist Michel Maas, a reporter with Dutch
National TV and Radio Netherlands Worldwide, was shot in the shoulder on May 19
while taking cover during a security force offensive against protesters. He
told Agence France-Presse from the hospital that he believed he was shot from
behind by Thai soldiers because the bullet came from the direction where troops
were stationed.

This is a short list of a
much wider range of press freedom violations that occurred during the recent
political unrest in Thailand.
While the media was allowed unfettered access to security force operations
aimed at suppressing the UDD, your government has also censored and shut down
various Thai media outlets in the name of national security—using discretionary
powers from a state of emergency declared on April
7. We are particularly concerned about the detention without charge of Red News editor Somyot Prueksakasemsuk,
who, according to Thai news reports, is currently being held at a military
installation in Saraburi province. He was detained on May 24, and journalists
told CPJ they believe that he is being held on accusations of publishing
anti-monarchy materials and violating the country’s lese majeste laws.

The government may be
concerned about broadcasts aimed at inciting violence on certain radio stations
aligned with the UDD, but we are concerned that your spreading censorship
activities have been extended to other news outlets that present news and views
that are merely in opposition to your government. In particular, we note your
government’s orders to shut down independent news Web site Prachatai and censor state broadcast media coverage of the May 19
military crackdown.

We likewise condemn UDD
protester attacks on local media, including the arson attacks on Channel 3’s
headquarters in Bangkok that required scores of reporters and staff members to
be evacuated from the building by helicopter. And we are carefully
investigating reports we have received from journalists and rights groups that
UDD gunmen may have deliberately targeted and shot foreign journalists in a bid
to discredit your government internationally.

Prime Minister, you have
maintained throughout these turbulent times in Thailand that your government is
committed to upholding the rule of law and is endeavoring to achieve
reconciliation through democratic processes. At a press conference with foreign
reporters on May 29, you acknowledged that the media should not be targeted in
the course of your country’s political conflict and expressed your belief that
journalists are entitled to do their jobs without fear of reprisal.

One meaningful step toward
affirming those statements would be to instruct parliament to establish a
commission that would ensure an independent investigation into recent attacks
on the press. The inquiry should be made public, and, where appropriate, cases
should be referred for legal prosecution. Another step would be to better
guarantee the security of journalists in any future street conflicts between
troops and protesters. Until then, your government's commitment to press
freedom will be in doubt.

We thank you for your
attention to these important issues and look forward to your reply.